Indonesia’s Universal Healthcare — Will it Work?

The rollout of universal health coverage in Indonesia has been greeted with public enthusiasm, but health experts warn that inadequate funding could undermine the quality of care.

The government aims to have every Indonesian covered by health insurance by 2019 under a new scheme called Jaminan Kesehatan Nasional (JKN), with nearly 20 trillion rupiah (US$1.6 billion) allocated to cover premiums for the poor in 2014.

Around 65 percent of the country’s 240 million people, including 86 million categorized as poor, are covered by some form of regional or national health program and are automatically entitled to comprehensive coverage under the JKN, which has replaced the previous health schemes.